At work, we may come with the expectation that someone is going to tell us off if we make a mistake and we’ll look stupid.

And there we have it, it’s not that we are stupid, it’s that we look stupid that is driving our behaviour.

And, of course, because this is work…

We’re afraid

Afraid of losing money, missing out on promotion, losing respect

Why admitting mistakes is good.

Opening up and admitting you’ve made a mistake can feel scary but here’s what it can do:

It shows you’re honest

It sets an example of openness

It means you can get help fixing the problem you’ve caused quickly

It wins you respect

And all these things together mean you can

build a culture of trust and transparency

which, at the end of the day, means there’s likely to be a lot fewer mistakes being swept under the carpet.

Why is trust important?

Trust is vital to a team, it brings with it openness about mistakes and weaknesses. It stops things from being hidden. It means people start supporting each other and learning from each other. It makes people feel content at work. It encourages creativity and shared risk taking.

You can have as many targets as you like, and the best vision possible, but if the trust is missing, your team is at risk of having secrets, internal politics, criticism, and losing their ability to be creative and take risks.

What next?

If you think your team has issues of trust, or if you are sure they don’t but they are still not working well together, why not book a free diagnostic skype session with me?

You’ll be able to spend some time looking objectively at your team, so you can identify what may be preventing you from being the best you can be; and we can think about how I might be able to help. Book now, or drop me an email